


When Knowledge Conquered Fear

by Miss_Von_Cheese



Series: Sciencegasms [3]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Science, Science Bros, Television, happy feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 02:31:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2332010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Von_Cheese/pseuds/Miss_Von_Cheese
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Mister Rogers? Mister Stark and Banner have demanded that I call you because your boyfriend has been, as they say, acting ‘really weird all day’. They request your presence immediately at the home cinema room, on floor 35.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Knowledge Conquered Fear

Steve was working out in the gym almost like every day, enjoying the facilities of Stark Tower, when he got the call he always knew he would eventually receive. Or not exactly the one he had predicted. Jarvis’ voice echoed in the room after a soft beep, as Steve was playfully torturing a punching bag, but he didn’t say that Bucky had been violent or out of control. He didn’t say that Bucky had relapsed and gone back to his Winter Soldier routine, that he had pledged allegiance to HYDRA again or that he had hurt someone. 

“Mister Rogers? Mister Stark and Banner have demanded that I call you because your boyfriend has been, as they say, acting ‘really weird all day’. They request your presence immediately at the home cinema room, on floor 35.”

“Fuck,” Steve swore worriedly. He let go of the bag, threw a towel over his shoulders and started running towards the elevator that was already waiting for him. He removed the straps around his fists, almost crushed the button. “Did he hurt someone? Or himself?”

“No, sir, not that I know of,” Jarvis politely stated.

Steve was fidgeting as the elevator started its trip, way too slowly, and he thought he should have ran down the stairs instead. “But what did he do?”

Jarvis was silent for two seconds that could have been considered like a sigh. “Well, in my opinion there is nothing to worry about, sir, but mister Banner and mister Stark find the situation troubling and would like to talk to you about it personally.”

“Jay… really?” Steve grunted, wondering if he found more annoying the silence of the AI, or the fact that he actually had an opinion, an opinion Steve almost trusted more than Stark’s. If Banner hadn’t been a part of this, he would have wondered what was Tony’s new idea to bug them. Tony was not a bad man, he was one of their best friends along with the Avengers, but he could be childish sometimes and even though Steve loved him, he wasn’t always fond of his pranks. 

A part of him was slightly worried though, it was Bucky they were talking about. His PTSD was not something to take lightly. He was feeling much better, more like himself even though he would never be the same anymore, but Steve didn’t want to ignore any sign of a potential relapse. 

He was caught by Tony and Bruce as he stepped out of the elevator and started to follow them towards the large cinema room they all used for movie nights. 

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“He’s not being himself!” Tony chided as if Steve were responsible. “He’s been acting weird all day!”

Bruce pushed his glasses up on his nose. “We have never seen him like that and he worries us. I’m afraid he might be in a depressive state, hm, no, I’m pretty sure he is. His activities are unusual, but I didn’t want to try talking to him about it before you came. He might need a familiar presence to cope with his feelings. I also called his therapist.” 

The room’s doors, imitating a real cinema with red and black velvet everywhere, had two round windows that allowed anyone in the corridor to take a look inside --it was mostly used to prevent the Tower residents from walking in on debauched activities, nobody wanted to know what kind of movie Bruce and Tony watched while they had sex, nor how they had it. Steve frowned, his mind quickly analyzing the scene. 

Bucky was sitting on one of the large couches, by himself, wearing one of his favorite hoodies, some of his favorite cereal bars stacked on the side. His bare feet and body language showed how relaxed he was, he didn’t seem tense or ready to run. He looked positively captivated by the pictures on the wide screen, images of planets and galaxies spinning in the dark sky around a middle-aged Afro-American man in a suit. 

“What… what’s going on?” Steve asked, confused.

“He’s been watching the Cosmos marathon on TV since he woke up,” Tony replied, pointing an accusing finger towards Bucky. “He even had breakfast and lunch in front of it. He hasn’t done anything else, he just... stayed in there!”

Steve raised an eyebrow. If Bucky ate regular meals and looked peaceful, then everything was fine. “So? You can ask him to leave if you want to use the room, he won’t bite you.” 

Bruce sighed softly. “No, we don’t care, we all have big screens everywhere, he can use this one as much as he wants. But it’s just so unlike him to stay in front of TV all day, it can be a sign of depression, you know, watching things you don’t really care about.”

“What is this show?” 

“It’s a science popularization program, it explains with simple words the things we know about our universe and how we know them, in a way that everyone can understand, not just the scientists,” Bruce explained. “It’s pretty popular.”

“Yes,” Tony added, cutting him off. “That’s what we’re talking about, Steve! Your ex-assassin boyfriend has been watching science shows for nine hours straight! I’m not going in there, he’s clearly not okay! Go and find out what’s going on with him, he’s freaking me out!” 

This time Steve couldn’t help laughing softly. He shook his head, amused by his friend’s horrified looks. “Guys! This is Bucky we’re talking about, he’s always been like that!” He pushed the door and stepped into the dark room, muttering an enthusiastic ‘And now he can watch science shows as much as he wants, that’s awesome!’ to himself.

Bucky almost bounced on the couch when he saw him and pointed at the screen with an excited grin. “Steve! This is amazing, come watch this with me! There’s just so much we have missed! We ARE in the future now!” 

He patted the couch to invite Steve to join him, ignoring Bruce and Tony’s strange looks, but the Captain slowed down and softly shook his head. “Hey, hey, it’s okay hun, I just wanted to know how you were doing, but I…”

“Come watch this,” Bucky insisted, gently patronizing. “Have you ever heard of the Big Bang? I’m sure you haven’t. Come here!” 

“Buckyyy,” Steve whined. “I’m not a kid, I’m an adult now, you can’t force me to go to science fairs anymore! Watch your thing and I’ll just…”

“Oh, shut up!” Bucky grabbed Steve’s hand and tugged on his arm repeatedly until Steve surrendered and fell on the couch with a groan. “Let’s get you educated, you need to stuff some knowledge in this empty head of yours! It’s Andromeda like you’ve never seen it!”

Steve playfully punched his boyfriend’s shoulder, who punched him in return with a chuckle. “You’re such a nerd, Buck.” 

Bucky didn’t seem to want to try understanding the insult, already staring at the screen with a mesmerized ‘o’ face as the host traveled through galaxies to explain concepts Steve did not care much about. The moment a small insert announced “Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking” next, Steve knew he was trapped: Bucky would root for a disabled genius and want to watch it too. And they both wouldn’t get out of this room for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick vignette because I really need Bucky to be happy, excited about the future again, and to catch up on everything he missed since 1944 -- and who doesn't like Neil De Grasse Tyson?


End file.
